Anyone overcome plantar fasciitis?

AngieJoy81

I acquired plantar fasciitis late in my recent pregnancy. My son is now two months old, which means I've been limping around with this for over four months! I stretch it out (with a ball) as often as possible, wear running shoes all day, and rest it as much as possible. I seem to re-injur it every few hours during the night when I have to get up to feed my son. I barely am able to walk the dogs around the block and I'm sore the rest of the day. I am dying to go for a run and get back to roller derby!
Can anyone tell me there is hope of this going away!? Do I need cortisone shots? Is there something I should be doing? Should I just "tough it out" or rest it?

bobbystrongarm

I've been trying to help my mother get over this recently. Like you, hers keeps coming back. She cycles ~100 miles a weekend. Her legs are already very tight from doing this, specially when she hill climbs on her rides. She lives on a hill so during the week when she walks her dog she it causing all sorts of issues. If she simply cuts out the hill walking during the week and wears an insole with arch support it almost 100% goes away.

If you are already practicing the proper stretching routines it might be time to see a doctor about it. A good pair of orthopedic inserts can help a ton.

There are certain activities that can trigger events. Walking up hill, calf intensive exercises, further activity once your calves are already tight.

If its not coming about from a particular activity that is known to cause plantar fasciitis symptoms you should really go in a speak with a doctor. I'm no doctor, but if you are having onsets with no obvious cause its sounds to me like some sort of treatment is in order.

BTW simply being too over weight can be the cause of it. I know when my mom was first having issues with it the very first thing the doctor said, "well your fat."

Seabreeze1969

I too suffer with it, and the only relief I have gotten was to be fitted for Orthodics. I am afraid of surgery, or I would have the heel spur removed, but since I was fitted with my inserts, it has made it easier.

james6998

I dont want to scare you but after being forced to wear a type of work boot i ended up getting it in both feet. Its been 10 years now, i have to walk on my toes to get around and they have tried everything for my feet. I have had 4 cortisone shots in left and 3 in right as well as a Plantar Fascia Release.http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/plantar-fascia-release

However i might add i am an extreme case, dont worry too much until your checked out.

sundog10

i had it about 8 years ago. i am a runner and was very devastated. i tried everything but the only thing that worked was inserts into good running shoes. and the main thing was cortisone shots; they did help me and i think that is what got me over it. It never came back. I also wore a leg thing at night to keep my foot stretched a certain way.

spoiledpuppies

Most people do get through this either naturally or by stretching or other solutions. However, I'm another one who's been dealing with it for about six years now. I've been to physical therapy and a chiropractor. My friend is a podiatrist and gave me custom orthotics as well as a boot to sleep in. He also gave me a cortisone shot. He thinks he may have missed the spot, but I never did another because I've heard that long-term, cortisone can be bad. (For old people, it's okay for relieving pain; but if you still have a few years left in you, the cortisone actually breaks things down and can cause damage if you do too much. The chiropractor said that people are split on this, but he wouldn't do more than 3 shots in any one place for a youngish person.) I've also tried the Straussburg sock, rolling a ball, picking up marbles, using a tool with a spring that exercises the foot, lots of stretching, and rolling a frozen can of green beans after a workout. Basically, other than surgery, I've tried everything. I returned to my original sports medicine clinic (where I had cried during my first visit when I learned that I should stop running). The took x-rays that showed that now I have heel spurs. What I've realized is that running doesn't seem to make things worse. I've also gotten minimalist shoes. They seem to have worked for some because they rebuild the muscles that we're supposed to naturally use. So I'm going to run through it--maybe just like once a week or something, and only enough to do sprint triathlons--maybe just building back up to 5 miles. I don't know. We'll see how that goes. So again, most (lucky) people do overcome it pretty naturally with rest and stretching--I'm just definitely not one of those people!

R4eBro

I have overcome a bad case of it that led to bone spurs. Fortunately I have a friend who is a very good orthotist, and I wore orthotics everyday, all day for nearly a year. Orthotics combined with physio and needling worked. I also had a large heel spur too. My advice, find a good orthotist and or pediatrist.
Good luck it is miserable. Stretch the calves a lot too!!

MizMimi111

I've had it for years. It seems to flare up and then go away for a while.

What has helped me the most was really good insoles that have proper arch support. Once my foot was supported properly, it became less and less painful.

This summer I shelled out the money and bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals. Well worth the money! My excruciating heel pain is gone. I don't dread getting up for fear of terrible pain.

sandiburn

I have been a retail manager for over 20 yrs now and I have had it in both feet for a long time. It comes and goes. Since I have been working out my feet are 50% better. Stretching is what helped me the most. Get GOOD insoles. Those two things are what keeps me walking everyday. Good luck.

amb0919

I have it in both of my feet, but since I stopped working as a hair stylist it hasn't flared up as much as it used to (only if I go somewhere and stand a ton or am out hiking around). The biggest thing that helped me was making sure I stretched it out after standing/walking or sitting down for a long period of time. I personally can't afford custom inserts or high priced shoes, but I did get a pair of the Dr. Scholl's tennies that had extra heel support and a gel insert already built into the heel area of the shoe. My feet felt so much better after I started wearing them and didn't get flare-ups quite as often. Biggest thing would be to check with your Dr. to see what they would recommend for you.

cinannk

I just had to get in on this because i suffered with the same thing for several years. It would get bad then a little better and then worse. I was to the point I thought it would be the end of my job. I stand on my feet and walk around for 8 hours a day. When I would take my lunch break and get off my feet for 30 minutes it would just about kill me to start walking again and of course I am totally familiar with the morning pain. I went to the Dr who gave me shots in my foot that hurt for weeks just as bad as my heel still hurt. My daughter told me about Dansko Professional Clogs and I bought a pair. I would say no longer than a week or so my foot quit hurting and has not hurt again since. I have bought 3 pair since that period of time, i get about a year and a half out of a pair before I feel the need to get another pair. I can even wear regular shoes on any given occasion and my feet don't bother me. These shoes have been a lifesaver for me and others that I have told who suffered with the same thing. I have not bought the basic clog made by Dansko just simply because I have had such good results that I'm not gonna mess with the success I have had but they may be just as good. I would highly recommend trying them before paying a huge amount for orthotics. They are an attractive shoe and can be worn with just about anything but I still just wear mine for work. With the healing came the ability to wear other shoes anytime so I am an avid fan of these shoes. Hope u get some relief because I know how it feels and it truly works your nerves. Good Luck!

krouse83

As many have said before, invest in some good insoles. I had extreme pain due to plantar fascitis and was doing exercises and stretches my brother (a physical therapist) instructed me to do. The pain however did not subside until he instructed me to go to a running store and was properly fitted for good insoles. Since then I usually stick those into whatever shoe I wear and I'm good. The brand I'm using right now is Superfeet and they even make them thin enough to put in flats! Hope this helps!

dapunks

I had it a few years ago. This is what worked for me. http://www.activerelease.ca/3_PlantarFas.html. If it is actual bone spurs this will not help. If you haven't seen a doctor you should probably start there.

salemsaberhagen

I have lived with it for since I was a kid and thought the pain was normal. I finally went to a foot doc and had orthodics made- world of difference. I had two pair made- one for dress shoes and a carbon fiber one for sport. The orthodics work very well- the sport has stood up to miles on the treadmill, squats, deadlifts, and anything else I can throw at it. See a doc about getting a pair.

balfit

Lots of great advice regarding stretching, footwear, insoles (orthotics) icing, medication and activity modification.
I suffered plantar fasciitis acutely when actively running for triathlons (ending up with bilateral heel spurs) and forcing me to look deeper into the issue. What I didn't understand at that time was that PF manifests on the feet, but it could be already brewing from further up in the movement chain: at the pelvis.
Low arches and limited dorsiflexion at the ankle are factors that can be addressed with orthotics, proper footwear and stretching calves as mentioned above. Movement can be modified by running less, in flatter surfaces, changing footstrike patterns, bicycle saddle height, cleat position and so on.
At the pelvis, a posterior tilt creates an internal rotation at the femur (can be seen as inward facing knees when weight bearing)which in turn, aligns the weight of the body into the foot by means of deepr pronation at the ankle. This situation places extra stress on the already strained plantar fascia.
The posterior tilt at the pelvis needs to be addressed within the context of a complete evaluation of the PF. One needs to regain awareness of the position of the pelvis and why is it tilted posteriorly: weak abs, tight hip flexors, pregnancy, extra weight gain in the abdomen region, high heels, etc. Also, weak gluteals, both max and mid gluteals, allow the femur to rotate internally and need to be addressed.
This evaluation is done by qualified PT, athletic trainer or sports medicine MD. One can self analyze stance and single leg foot alignment by doing a mini single leg squat in front of the mirror, barefoot.
In my case, I started with my PF situation when very active in longer distance triathlons. Getting off the bike, legs tired, gluteals tired and calves tight, didn't help to keep a properly aligned footstance. Running long in this prefatigued state set the stage for the injury. Interestingly, years later, after PT school, I quit triathlons and started Pilates training. This helped me acquire awareness of my pelvis positioning and strengthen/balance other structures in the pelvis region. Even though PF was, at it's worst, keeping me from biking/hiking (not even dream of running) I can now do all these activities (running very limited)-painfree-
May all be well

madtownjeremy

I went minimalist and started landing midfoot. Every single problem gone.

terricherry2

I suffered with it for about a year and to be honest the best relief was losing weight. I had a physio show me some stretches that really helped but they were only a temporary relief. It did go away in the end though. Also ice is meant to be good.

james6998

I was later told (after the fact) was cortisone shots that did my feet in.

spoiledpuppies

Someone mentioned Dansko shoes. (I already posted about how I can't rid of my PF, and I'm now trying minimalist shoes.) I kind of think Danskos CAUSED my problem. I got them before PF. Absolutely loved them. Then my foot started hurting. After not wearing them for a summer, my foot felt better--didn't make a connection until I put them on again in fall and my foot hurt again. I've mentioned this at a few shoe stores, and the sales people have said that I'm definitely not the first person to say this. So again, I loved them at first--and maybe there are a solution for others--but I kind of regret ever wearing them.

SoDamnHungry

If you think you're injuring it at night, maybe try wrapping your foot before you go to sleep? Icing also might help.

Because it's been going on so long, you should go to a doctor an ask what he/she thinks.

Sarahlascelles

Have you sought medical advice?

You need to identify the underlying cause. For example, in my case it is a tight Achilles that causes my occasional bouts of PF, so calf stretches help prevent recurrence.

Special shoes, heel pads, etc, are just gimmicks unless you know what is causing it.